Coastal hen Great Crested Tern finds a visit Coimbatores Singanallur tank

A Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii), which is seen alongside coasts and estuaries, was noticed at Singanallur tank in Coimbatore just lately.

City-based nature enthusiasts-cum-photographers D. Gajamohanraj and Sharang Satish, who noticed the uncommon customer, stated this might presumably be the primary ever sighting of Great Crested Tern at an inland water physique in Tamil Nadu and the very first file in Coimbatore.

According to the 2 birders, Greater Crested Tern happens in tropical and heat temperate coastal elements of the Old World from South Africa across the Indian Ocean to the Pacific and Australia.

The duo had been frequenting Singanallur tank since final month because it was the one tank in Coimbatore that had an honest shoreline and {a partially} dry lake mattress, which might entice resident and migrant birds, particularly passage migrants.

They went to Singanallur tank for birding together with Krishnamoorthy Raju, Karthikeyan, Sundar Muruganandhan, Neel Anandh Mayur, Arun and Vasanth on October 5. Mr. Raju had noticed a Red-necked Phalarope, a shore hen from the Arctic area, the day before today.

“While observing the Phalarope, we observed a big tern flying within the northeast a part of the lake. When it approached us, its giant dimension was very obvious, nearly like a Gull. Its head sample and enormous yellowish invoice made it very clear that this was a Great Crested Tern. We instantly took some images because it flew overhead,” stated Mr. Gajamohanraj.

They had been shocked as Great Crested Tern is an unique coastal hen.

“Going by the plumage, the person noticed by us may very well be an immature or non-breeding hen which will have strayed from its common migratory path. We noticed the hen once more the identical day night when it was within the firm of Common Terns and Whiskered Terns. It was to not be discovered the following day onwards,” stated Mr. Sharang.

Lesser Crested Tern, an analogous and associated species, was noticed at Achankulam in Coimbatore in September in 2021.